What You Fear the Most
by kitalyn erof
Summary: Rose and the Doctor are left in dire straits when they are both infected by a sentient virus, one that will use their worst fears against them in order to bend them to its will... universe-wide destruction. It will twist their reality to get the best of them, an alternate path where the Doctor is human and Rose is a Time Lady. Can they beat it before the TARDIS self-destructs?


Everything in the TARDIS is still. The console room is filled with a warm yellow glow and gentle whirring and clicking sounds are the only noises. She waits patiently, rendered timeless and still in space, as her beloved companions are out on some adventure. Anxious for their return, she waits forever and yet for only a moment, when the door bursts open- inward, of course.

He'll never get that right.

"Hurry up, get in, get in!" he barks, shoving Rose in first.

They fall to the floor in a heap- a spear sails over their heads and sticks in a coral-like pillar. The Doctor lashes a boot out at the door, and it slams shut, cutting off the roar of a blood-thirsty mob. The TARDIS gives a hum of displeasure, but they don't hear it over their panting.

"Before you say anything, I had no idea that Jegadorians held grudges that long," he says as he stands and shakes the dust of his leather jacket. He scratches his head and squints. "And actually, I've quite forgotten exactly what I did to upset them in the first place." He helps Rose to her feet, and she brushes off her jeans.

"Right," Rose says, hands on her hips, "and what about when that big orange bloke started accusing you of eloping with his daughter?"

"An honest mistake, I had no idea she considered _that_ a proposal!" he shoots back. Rose laughs and shakes her head.

"And I suppose-" suddenly the lights flicker off, and she falls silent. The dark is filled with a deafening silence. Then a pulsing green light fills the TARDIS, giving everything a sickly glow.

"No," the Doctor murmurs, his voice filled with disbelief, "It can't be…" He stares blankly at the console. The only light on, the green one, flashes like a dying heartbeat.

Rose looks at his shadowed face.

"Doctor, what... what is it?" she asks. He reaches for her hand, and she takes it. It's cold, clammy.

"It's here... It was supposed to have been destroyed millennia ago by my people," he mutters, his voice growing angry, "but they missed it, just one single germ, and now they've sealed our fates." He turns to her, his eyes sad, "To answer your question, it doesn't have a name. Just a death toll, a hundred billion planets left empty, desolate, not a single survivor amongst the mountains of bodies."

"A plague, then?"

"Yes, but worse, oh, so much worse. An intelligent disease... one that likes to play cat-and-mouse, manipulate minds with fear in order to become God... to control actions, and force people to play along with a its little schemes, and then to kill them all as cruelly as possible. The Time Lords supposedly stamped it out, but a single germ, a single infection in just a single creature could lead to planet-wide destruction."

Rose's eyes widen. "But if you're infected..."

He meets her gaze again, eyes steely. "Every single moment in time and every single place in the universe is in peril." He swallows hard. "And I'm sorry, but the only thing we can do to save the universe from this thing is to die."

Rose inhales sharply. "How?"

"It's going to prey on our worst fears, try to twist us until we bend to its will." He gestures to the light. "But the TARDIS is programmed to deal with this. It's set to self-destruct before the disease brainwashes us."

"Our worst fears... but what if we fight it?" The Doctor perks up.

"There's a chance... it'll be difficult, but just maybe..." He whisks his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, flashes it at the light console, and the dim backup light floods the room, yet the green light still flashes. "Okay, now listen: I've set back the self-destruct, to give us an hour, at most."

"Right, no problem."

"Big problem: I have no idea what happens next."

"Oh."

"I can assure you, it's going to be bad. So, Rose Tyler, just remember this... no matter what I say, or what happens, just know that I... that I think you're not too bad for a pinky-yellow ape-thing."

Rose's mouth twists into a smile. "And I don't think you're too bad for an egomaniacal alien."

The Doctor grins widely. "Fantastic, we're on the same page."

They still hold hands when there's a blinding flash, and everything goes black.


End file.
